BFD News

BFD Meeting: Friday night, June 10th at the Hall's

2011-06-06T21:26:00.000-05:00

Date: Friday, June 10th

Time: 7-10pm

Location:

Dan and Phillis Hall

8 Glen Ridge Road

Raymond, NH 03077-1536

(603) 895-9401 H

View Larger Map

Travel NH Route 101 to Exit 5 (Routes 102/107/156, Raymond/Fremont).

Take a right at the end of the off-ramp, and travel about 3/4 mile to the stop light at the T-junction of Routes 107/156/27 (Irving gas station is opposite). Take a left on Routes 27W/107N and travel about one mile to the second right, Harriman Hill Road. Go up Harriman Hill Road about one mile to the first right at Glen Ridge Road. We are at the second house on the left, a Tudor-style raised ranch. Park in the paved or gravel driveway or on the street.   Use the back entrance. If looking for Glen Ridge Road on an older map, it might be listed as Pine Ridge Road, and Google Maps sometimes calls it Maple Drive.

Please bring:

    Homebrew and craft beer
    Food (whatever you would like)

Please send agenda items for the business meeting (8pm) to David Rosenbaum(president@bfd.org).

May Meeting: Friday May 13, 2011 - Rob Somoygi's house

2011-05-12T11:59:00.000-05:00

When: Friday May 13th, 7pm - 10pm
Where: Rob Somogyi's home

12 Harrod Lane
Bedford, NH

View Larger Map

As always, prospective members are welcome.

Please bring a tasting glass, you are welcome to bring food, and, of course, homebrew, or commercial beer that you would like to share and get feedback on.

BFD's Big Brew Day 2011 plans

2011-04-25T09:54:00.002-05:00

BFD is participating in the
AHA's Annual Big Brew Day

When: Saturday, May 7th, starting at 10am (rain date: Sunday May 8th)
Where: The home of Dick and Sylvia Moher, in Auburn, NH (see signup sheet for address and directions)
What: The AHA annually sponsors a "Big Brew" Day, which promotes homebrewing. The general idea is for

clubs to hold public events and invite interested non-brewers to join in and learn about brewing (you can read the AHA's info here). BFD is doing this for the first time, so we are inviting all BFD members, and interested friends, to participate.

Note that the AHA site has 3 recipes that they are promoting for the day. You don't have to use their recipes for our event, but feel free to use them if you would like. If this year's event is successful, we may stipulate a particular recipe next year for a barrel project as part of this event.

Water (for brewing) and electricity (for pumps) will be provided. You will need to bring your own:

ingredients (grain, hops, yeast, etc.)
equipment (kettles, mash/lauter tuns, chillers, carboys, etc.)
sanitizer, cleaner, etc.
chairs, tables, brew sculptures
propane and burner (please be sure the burner won't scorch Dick's grass!)
food -- this is a byo/pot-luck event. Bring for you, or bring to share.

Dick has invited us to use his driveway, patio, and yard for this event, and this is open to all. I am instituting a sign-up sheet (see below), so please register so we know you are coming.

Sign up sheet: http://www.bfd.org/BigBrew.php (this will help us know who is coming and report to the AHA what our turnout was)

If you have any questions, please contact me (president@bfd.org) or Dick (rmoher555@comcast.net).

April Meeting: Friday Apr 8th, 7pm at John Golden's house

2011-03-19T21:06:00.003-05:00

Date: 8 April 2011
Time: 7pm - 10pm
Location:

John Golden's House
15 Garrison Dr
Bedford, NH 03110

Please bring food and drink.

Agenda:
7:00-7:15 arrival
7:15-7:45 tech talk
7:45-8:00 socializing
8:00-8:30 business meeting
8:30- 10 socializing

Please contact David Rosenbaum if you have any questions: president at bfd dot org.

11 March 2011 meeting - White Birch Brewery

2011-02-22T12:05:00.000-05:00

Date: 11 March 2011
Time: 7pm - 10pm
Location:

White Birch Brewing
1368 Hooksett Rd, Unit 6
Hooksett, NH 03106

January Meeting: Friday Jan 14th, 7pm at Kai Troester's house

2010-12-22T11:44:00.003-05:00

January meeting info:

When: Friday January 14th, 7pm - 10pm
Where: Kai Troester's - Kai's address will be sent to club members via email, prospective members should contact David Rosenbaum (president at bfd dot org) for the address.

As usual, club members and prospective members are invited to bring food, homebrew, and commercial examples of beer to share.

Please send agenda items to: president at bfd dot org

Rob North Wins 2010 Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest

2010-04-28T08:45:00.000-05:00

MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE HOMEBREWER NAMED CHAMPION IN THIRD ANNUAL SAMUEL ADAMS® PATRIOT HOMEBREW CONTEST

Homebrewer Rob North Scores Big and Eagerly Awaits Seeing His Beer Served at Gillette Stadium

Boston, MA – April 28, 2010 – New Hampshire homebrewer Rob North triumphed over nearly 200 other entrants to win the third annual Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew contest. His winning brew, a Rauchbier, meaning “smoke beer” in German, will be served and sold at Gillette Stadium during the upcoming Patriots season. Hailing from Manchester, New Hampshire, North beat out entries from all six New England states.

“Rob’s Rauchbier is well balanced and has a perfect blend of smoke and malt, reminding me of the traditional Rauchbiers I’ve enjoyed while visiting Germany every year during hops selection,” said Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams. “Its sweet and smoky aroma and flavor will make this beer a perfect complement to the sausages and bold, full flavored grilled fare that people love during football season.”

Along with bragging rights, Rob’s prize includes the opportunity to come to the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery and brew his winning beer with support from the Samuel Adams team of brewers. Rob’s brew will be served alongside the traditional Samuel Adams beers at the Samuel Adams Brewhouse® in Gillette Stadium during the entire 2010-2011 football season.

Rob has been actively homebrewing for the past three years, and is a member of the homebrew club, Brew Free or Die based in New Hampshire. He has entered a few other homebrew competitions over that course of time, and was crowned "Brewer of the Year" at the New England Regional Homebrew Competition in the fall of 2009. Today, he adds another big win to his list. “I had planned to enter one of my homebrews into the 2008 Patriot Homebrew Contest, but because of an ice storm in New Hampshire, I couldn’t get the beer to the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery in time. Winning the contest this year definitely makes up for it!” Rob said. “It is such an amazing feeling to know that my Rauchbier will be served at Gillette Stadium this year. Rauchbiers are not a common beer style and I’m excited to have the opportunity to put a beer like this in front of people who haven’t tried it before and open up their eyes to something different. What’s even better, this is a fantastic beer to enjoy during football season!”

The origin of Rauchbiers dates back to the 1500s in the town of Bamberg, Germany. Even today, the best known Rauchbiers are found in the historical brewpubs in Bavaria. Rauchbiers are typically dark amber in color and have a smoky aroma and flavor that varies in intensity depending on the smoked malts used in the brewing process.

Twenty five years ago, Jim Koch brewed the first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager® in his kitchen. At a time when high-quality, flavorful beer was unavailable in the Boston area, Jim dreamed of bringing fresh, flavorful beer to local beer lovers. That first brew, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, went on to help start the craft beer revolution. Over the years, Jim has helped other aspiring homebrewers realize their brewing dreams through the brewery’s nationwide homebrew contest, Samuel Adams® American Homebrew Contest® and locally through the Samuel Adams® Patriot Homebrew Contest, giving a nod to the Company’s Boston roots. “I’m looking forward to working with Rob and brewing his recipe in Boston,” said Jim. “Every year since the inception of the Patriot Homebrew Contest, we’ve had the opportunity to introduce thousands of football fans to interesting styles of craft beer, from a Double IPA to an Oatmeal Stout’s and now a Rauchbier. For years, Patriots fans have been coming to the stadium in hopes of witnessing a great game, and thanks to Rob and the homebrewing community in New England, they also get to enjoy some really great beer.”

The Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest, now in its third year, kicked off in August 2007 encouraging New England football fans to brew their own beers and submit them for judging. The preliminary judging took place at Gillette Stadium on January 23, where five finalists advanced to the final round. The final judging was hosted by Jim Koch at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery. The judging included the fine beer palates of notable beer tasters Mike Adams of WEEI-AM, Jason and Todd Alström of Beer Advocate, Wally Brine of WROR-FM, Gail Ciampa of The Providence Journal, Carolyn Faye Fox of The Improper Bostonian, Dan Hausle of WHDH-TV, Norman Miller of the MetroWest Daily News, and David Rosenbaum, winner of the 2008 Patriot Homebrew Contest.

THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY BACKGROUND:

The Boston Beer Company began in 1984 with a generations-old family recipe that founder and brewer Jim Koch uncovered in his father’s attic. After bringing the recipe to life in his kitchen, Jim brought it to bars in Boston with the belief that drinkers would appreciate a complex, full-flavored beer, brewed fresh in America. That beer was Samuel Adams Boston Lager, and it helped catalyze what became known as the American craft beer revolution.

Today, the Company brews more than 21 styles of beer. The Company uses the traditional four-vessel brewing process and often takes extra steps like dry-hopping and a secondary fermentation known as krausening. It passionately pursues the development of new styles and the perfection of its classic beers by constantly searching for the world’s finest ingredients. While resurrecting traditional brewing methods, the Company has earned a reputation as a pioneer in another revolution, the “extreme beer” movement, where it seeks to challenge drinkers’ perceptions of what beer can be. The Boston Beer Company strives to elevate the image of American craft beer by entering festivals and competitions the world over, and in the past five years it has won more awards in international beer competitions than any other brewery in the world. The Company remains independent, and brewing quality beer remains its single focus. While Samuel Adams is the country’s largest-selling craft beer, it accounts for only about one-half of one percent of the U.S. beer market. For more information, please visit www.samueladams.com.

April Club Only Competition - American Ales

2010-03-17T22:00:00.004-05:00

The April Club Competition judging will take place on Thursday March 25th at 7:00 PM at my and Lisa's house, 391 Oak St., Manchester. To enter, please submit 3 12oz bottles for each entry by the evening of the competition. The winner's beer will be sent to the AHA Club Only Competition for the chance of winning AHA Club of the Year points and serious bragging rights! If you are interested in judging please let me know at rob.north@gmail.com. Thanks and good luck!

Rob North

BFD Club Competition Coordinator

Notice to new members...

2010-02-11T11:08:00.000-05:00

If you aren't getting BFDNet email and have sent in payment (by check, or by paying cash at a meeting), please contact me at fairbrother@nhbrewers.com

Thanks
Michael Fairbrother

November BFD Club Competition - Results

2009-11-21T10:23:00.002-05:00

Thanks to all the entrants and to Lisa and Todd for their help with judging last night. We ended up with 6 entries in the end and had a fun night of judging, "Best of Show" style.

And the winners are:

3rd place - Scott Prive - Belgian Blonde Ale
2nd place - Todd Russell, Michael Fairbrother, Mitch Steele - Belgian Triple
1st place - Scott Prive - Belgian Triple

Congratulations Scott! Your Triple will be shipped to Florida to represent BFD in the November AHA Club Only Competition. With luck the results of this competition will be posted before the December BFD meeting.

Next up - The Session Challenge – English Brown Ales. Entries will be due early February 2010.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Rob

Fourth Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition Raises $2,000 for Charity / Winners Announced

2009-11-19T20:50:00.003-05:00

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: David Rosenbaum

978.409.5410

secretary@bfd.org

Fourth Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition Raises $2,000 for Charity / Winners Announced

Manchester, NH • November 20, 2009 — On Saturday, October 24^th, Brew Free or Die (BFD) and Southern Maine Homebrewers (SMH) clubs held the Fourth Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition. The clubs jointly raised more than $2,000 to be donated to the American Cancer Society, and The Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine. In 2008, the competition donated a similar amount to the charities.

The competition, held at The Potting Shed, in Acton, ME, included judging of 343 entries from the US and Canada, representing twenty-one states and one province. A volunteer staff of 52 judges, stewards, and others participated, making this the biggest NERHBC to date.

“We are thrilled that we had such a large number of entries and participation from a national and international group of home brewers. This is turning into a major regional event as we envisioned.” said Dana Peterson, Board Member of the Southern Maine Homebrewers.

The 2009 New England Regional Homebrew Competition was sponsored by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and site sponsor, The Shed of Acton Maine. Supported by dozens of other sponsors, NERHBC is among the largest homebrewing competitions in New England, and is sanctioned by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP).

The competition awards gold, silver and bronze medals in 28 style categories. Congratulations to this year’s winners, including:

Home Brewer of the Year (sponsored by Samuel Adams): Rob North of Manchester, NH
Cider Maker of the Year (Sponsored by Woodchuck Draft Cider): Joshua Persson of Warwick, RI
Mead Maker of the Year (sponsored by Maine Mead Works): Michael Fairbrother of Londonderry, NH
Best of Show Award: Michael Fairbrother of Londonderry, NH

A complete list of winners is posted at http://www.bfd.org/nerhbc

“We are truly excited at the number of entries and level of participation in this year’s competition. BFD donates to the American Cancer Society in memory of our late member, Don Merkey. It is a great way to honor Don’s love of brewing, and to raise money for two worthy charities." said Eric Shroder, Treasurer of Brew Free or Die.

Brew Free or Die (BFD) is New Hampshire's first, and most active, homebrew club. BFD was started in January of 1991 by several home brewers, intent on establishing a homebrew club in New Hampshire to 'host' the American Homebrewers Association conference held in June of that year in Manchester. BFD's membership is currently around 80 members, representing all levels of experience and expertise.

Southern Maine Homebrewers (SMH) was founded in 2004 to preserve and promote the time honored tradition of home brewing; to share each others knowledge and experience about beer, mead, cider & wine brewing, tasting & judging,. SMH also maintains involvement with the AHA and their competitions through club sponsored entries and activities. SMH is Maine’s largest homebrew club.

-end

BFD Barrel projects

2009-10-13T12:07:00.000-05:00

This is the current information regarding BFD barrel aging projects. New information will be posted as we go forward. Recipe's used in the barrel projects can be posted as comments to this posting. This will be updated from time to time as needed.

Barrel #	Location	Current Contents	Date for fill/empty	New Contents	Shares Available
1	Herlicka’s	Tripel	7 Nov	Wild Red Ale	No
2	Fairbrother’s	Old Ale	12 Dec	English Barleywine	Yes
3	Fairbrother’s	RIS #2		Not to be refilled	XXX
4	Faribrother’s	Empty			Yes
5	Fairbrother’s	Empty			Yes

October Club Competition Results

2009-10-03T14:38:00.004-05:00

First of all thanks to Michael, Rick, and Kurt for judging the entries Friday night. So without further adieu:

3rd Place - Todd Russell - Oktoberfest
2nd Place - Mike Carthy - Oktoberfest
1st Place - Rob North - Oktoberfest

Thanks to all who entered. I will scan your scoresheets and will email them to you in the next couple of days, and will get you your ribbons ASAP.

Looking ahead, the November Club Competition style is Belgian Strong Ale. Judging will take place Friday 11/20 in Manchester. Please email me if you are planning to enter or can help judging.

Rob

LongShot wnners Video

2009-09-29T14:48:00.000-05:00

Samuel Adams LongShot Winners announced.

2009-09-27T09:11:00.002-05:00

The Samuel Adams American Homebrew Contest selects beers from two homebrewers and a Boston Beer employee's recipe to make up the yearly release of the LongShot variety pack.

Michael Robinson, a long time Brew Free or Die member, has an Old Ale in the pack, Ben Miller of New Mexico contributes a Barleywine, and Jeremy White, an IT employee at Boston Beer, offers a Belgian-style Saison. Congratulations to all three winners, but I have to express how happy I am for Michael Robinson. This was Michael's second time in a row as a LongShot finalist. I just wish I could have been there in person to say well done!!!

The LongShot pack is slated for release in April 2010, my hope is to get to try some of that beer well before April.

4th Annual NERHBC Announced - Press Release

2009-09-16T08:21:00.003-05:00

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: David Rosenbaum, 978.409.5410, secretary@bfd.org

Fourth Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition Announced

Manchester, NH • September 8, 2009 — On Saturday, October 24^th, Brew Free or Die (BFD) and Southern Maine Homebrewers (SMH) clubs are jointly hosting the Fourth Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the American Cancer Society, and The Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine. In 2008, the competition donated a total of $2,200.00 to the charities.

Winners will be selected from what are expected to be more than 300 entries of homebrewed beer, cider and mead from across the country. Last year 20 states were represented with 290 entries in all BJCP recognized categories. Entries will be accepted, between September 28^th and October 9^th, with judging to be held at The Shed in Acton, ME on Saturday, October 24^th, starting at 9am.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for homebrewers from across the country to showcase their beer, cider and mead. We have had some truly fine entries to judge in the past, and I expect this year to be even better.” said Steve Loignon, Board Member of the Southern Maine Homebrewers.

The 2009 New England Regional Homebrew Competition is sponsored by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and site sponsor, The Shed of Acton Maine. Supported by dozens of other sponsors, NERHBC is among the largest homebrewing competitions in New England, and is sanctioned by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The competition awards gold, silver and bronze medals in 28 style categories. Homebrewer of the Year (sponsored by Samuel Adams), Cidermaker of the Year (Sponsored by Woodchuck Draft Cider) and Meadmaker of the Year (sponsored by Maine Mead Works) honors, plus the Best of Show Award, are awarded to the top amateur brewers as determined through the competition.

“Each year the NERHBC has gotten bigger and better, and this year we have a new set of terrific prizes from our sponsors to recognize the efforts of the entrants. It is a great way to honor Don Merkey’s love of brewing and to raise money for two worthy charities." said Michael Fairbrother, President of Brew Free or Die.

Information about entering the competition, judging, stewarding, and sponsorship is available at http://www.bfd.org/NERHBC. A complete list of winners will be posted on the competition website after the competition.

This year’s competition is being planned and run by club members from of local clubs Brew Free or Die, New Hampshire’s Oldest Homebrew Club, and Southern Maine Homebrewers. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is the competition sponsor, while other sponsors include The Shed, Samuel Adams, Maine Mead Works, Woodchuck Draft Cider, National Chemicals, March Pumps, Time Honored Designs and Shapleigh Hops, among many other local and national firms. A complete list of sponsors is available on http://www.bfd.org/NERHBC.

For more information, including entry forms and registration for judges and stewards, please see the competition website: http://www.bfd.org/NERHBC.

-end

What makes BFD such a great club?

2009-08-19T20:58:00.002-05:00

Brew Free or Die, is based on a simple premise, that great beer, mead, cider is something that is to be cherished and lessons learned from each other, ok the official story is a bit longer, but that's my take tonight.

This club has at least 3 professional brewers, a few who are lurking in the background and working on plans, and dozens of world class home brewers, to guys and gals who just brew as it's what they like to do.

It's a place where homebrewers with little to no experience can grow, and where those that win MCAB, and dozens of other national competitions shine, and share.

I have been an active part of this club for 15 years, and I can't even begin to describe how much this club means to me, and how proud I am that this "little club from NH" is so well respected. We have something here, that's genuine, and we brew as strong as any club in this country.

We are the largest we have ever been... and that's not such a bad thing! Lots of interest, and it continues to grow, and we intern, reinvest in our members.

Hope to see everyone at the Homebrewers Jamboree, in Campton NH, on September 12th. Look me up, and stop by and have a beer, and discuss why you should join up with us.

Who's happier than David????

2009-08-19T20:11:00.002-05:00

Patriot Homebrew Winner news update...

2009-08-19T18:57:00.001-05:00

David Rosenbaum, will be on the Loren & Wally show on WROR (105.7 FM) tomorrow (Thursday, 9/20/2009) morning at 7am EDT with Jim Koch of Sam Adams. If you aren't in Boston, you can listen at http://www.wror.com, but you have to sign up first to access the stream. He will be talking about beer, naturally!

Drinking Haikus

2009-07-20T13:39:00.002-05:00

From Susan Picard:

Dan Hall and I have toiled long and hard, and have come up with three Haikus that we think describe our favorite Tuesday nite drinking destination. As you're probably aware (but I'm putting it in here in case you're not), haikus are a Japanese 3-line poem that have a particular number of syllables per line: 5-7-5. Maybe they should be on the BFD site - they are good for a laugh. Here they are:

Title: The Strange Brew Tavern

Good cheap beer with friends.
Appetizers at half price.
Bill comes, low money.

Title: The Regulars' Roost
Standing long time sucks.
Must maneuver for a perch.
The peninsula!

Title: Drinking Precedence
Hoegaarden to start.
Then move on to harder stuff.
Victory Storm King!

Hops Direct LLC donates 25lbs of whole leaf hops to the club.

2009-04-27T17:49:00.004-05:00

Well I had a great vacation last week, took some time off to attend the Craft Brewer's Conference, where I got to see and learn quite a bit about craft beer and make new friends, and see some great old friends.

One such new friend... the fine folks from Puterbaugh Frams, aka www.hopsdirect.com, they were getting ready to clean up from the event and had this beautiful bale of 25lbs of Willamette Leaf Hops that was looking for a home.

Well as President of Brew Free or Die, I couldn't let said hops go to waste... so I offered my assistance and the promise of a plug (pun intended) or two... so club... here ya go... we have some, ok quite a bit, of hops that can be used for All English-style Ales, and US Pale and Brown Ales. My plan is to bring the bale of hops to the May meeting for distribution to the club. ... BRING baggies, lots of BAGGIES. Kurt Demmer and I get first crack... but the rest is open to the club members.

The hops have been bagged, and placed into my hop freezer, yes my hop freezer is as full as it's ever been.

Thank you Puterbaugh Farms, I really appreciate your generousity!

New Style: Gluten Free Beer

2009-03-21T07:48:00.006-05:00

Commerical Gluten Free Beer

The most common Gluten Free (GF) beers available domestically are extract-based using Sorghum. I've included a picture of some of the bottles.

The plan as discussed at the March meeting is to develop a new style for the BJCP Style Guidelines. However, first I would like to characterize some of the commerically available brands with the help of the club members. I will be posting progress on this blog under the topic "Gluten Free Beer".

As an example a new category could be:

XX. Gluten Free Beer.

XXa. American Sorghum Ale GF.

Commerical examples:

AB Redbridge, Bards, New Grist

XXb. Belgium Sorghum GF.

Commerical examples:

Greens

XXc. Light Ale GF.

Commerical examples:

La Messagier

During one of our meetings I will also give a presentation on ingredients that are acceptable for Gluten Free beer. Hopefully I can also set up a tasting.

Please feel free to comment.

Harold

Patriot Homebrew Competition and the winner is???

2009-03-02T18:58:00.001-05:00

David Rosenbaum, a very active club member who has previously been vice president of Brew Free or Die, and is currently its acting webmaster, and secretary... has just won the 2008/9 Patriot Homebrew Competition!!!

This competition had over 170 entries from all over New England.

David has been a season pass holder for the New England Patriots for as long as I have known him, here he's in the background at 2007/8 competition, in the #80 jersey.

I can't imagine what it's going to be like to have a beer that you created and brewed at home, be made commercially and have on draft while you are watching the game, but I have to imagine it's going to be incredible. I would also imagine getting to work with the brewers at Samuel Adams is also going to be a blast.

So congratulations David!

Michael Fairbrother

Brew Free or Die --- now owns Mead Free or Die

2009-02-14T20:40:00.001-05:00

The first national Mead only competition to be held in all of New England is now for the benefit of Brew Free or Die.

Mead Free or Die, which has support from over 17 sponsors thus far, is scheduled for April 25th 2009, to be held in Manchester NH.

See www.meadfreeordie.com for more information about the competition.

Old Ale -- Utopias barrel aged.

2009-01-31T16:36:00.002-05:00

Well today, 7 Brew Free or Die members got together to add the Old Ales they had brewed into a Utopias Barrel.

The colors of the beers ranged from a dark copper to medium brown. The process was to sample each of the beers before adding to the barrel. The flavors ranged from dry to sweet, body of the beers also ranged from thin to medium/full.

Overall the hopes of those entering into this long term project was quite high. The estimate is that we have 43 gallons in the barrel.

The other barrel projects were sampled, keeping sanitation in mind, the Flanders Brown (aka. what was once a Baltic porter) has really started to improve quite a bit. To quote Bill H. "if anyone doesn't want their share, I will take it". The Russian Imperial in Utopias barrel, has a great toasted coconut and vanilla flavor/aroma, medium to full body... really exceptional.

Cranberry Challenge 2008

2008-12-04T11:47:00.005-05:00

At the November 2008 meeting I presented information about Cranberry beers.

Here are my notes and a number of recipes for Cranberry beers of all styles.

I will be making the Crandaddy Braggot from Sam Calgione's book, and I invite others to try brewing some cranberry beers that we can taste next year.

Enjoy!

David Rosenbaum

3rd New England Regional Homebrew Competition

2008-10-30T14:06:00.006-05:00

I would like to thank all the sponsors, entrants, and staff for the tremendous support that was
given to the 3rd Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition, which took place on October 25th 2008, in Acton Maine.

We had 290 entries in the competition, up from 250 the previous year. Over 100 homebrewers had submitted entries, from as many as 19 states. The competition is still tallying up how much money was raised for The American Cancer Society, and The Good Shepard Foodbank of Maine.

Complete list of winners can be found here http://www.bfd.org/NERHBC/

Best of Show was won by Alastair Hewitt, who provided the following recipe for his dry stout.

Stout Lite

All-grain

Color

Stats

OG	1.035
FG	1.011
IBU	39
ABV	3.10 %
SRM	36

BJCP Style

16A. Stout, Dry Stout

Description

A low alcohol stout, stating at bottom of OG range and ending at top of FG range.

Recipe Details

Tasting Notes	Low gravity fermentation is very clean, so drinkable after one week.
Awards	BOS winner - 3rd Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition
Boil Volume	8.00 gallons
Boil Time	90 minutes
Batch Size	7.00 gallons
Yeast	Wyeast 1056 (75% app. attenuation)
Primary Fermentation	Glass, 5 days @ 68F
Secondary Fermentation	none
Other Fermentation
Procedure	Single step infusion mash, 75 mins @ 152F. Split batch and add 12oz of lactose to one half for a sweet stout (FG 1.018)

	Style Comparison
	Low		High
OG	1.035	1.035	1.050
FG	1.007	1.011	1.011
IBU	30	39	50
SRM		36	35+
ABV	3.2	3.10	5.5

Fermentables

% Weight	Weight (lbs)	Grain	Gravity Points	Color
75.7 %	7.00	American Two-row Pale	27.8	1.8
13.5 %	1.25	British Roasted Barley	3.9	575.0
10.8 %	1.00	Flaked Barley	3.4	2.2
	9.25		35.1

Hops

% Wt	Weight (oz)	Hop	Form	AA%	AAU	Boil Time	Utilization	IBU
50.0 %	1.00	First Gold	Pellet	6.9	6.9	90	0.323	23.8
25.0 %	0.50	Willamette	Pellet	5.8	2.9	90	0.323	10.0
25.0 %	0.50	Willamette	Pellet	5.8	2.9	15	0.150	4.6
	2.00							39.0

Miscellaneous Ingredients

Weight/Units	Name	Notes
1 tsp	Calcium Carbonate	Start of boil
1 tsp	Irish Moss	Last 15 mins

European Amber Lager Club-Only Competition

2008-10-30T12:30:00.004-05:00

It's autumn and the leaves are all over the ground. That means it's time for our third and final Club-Only Competition of 2008. We are going to be judging entries from BJCP Category 3 (European Amber Lager) under the 2004 Style Guidelines. So bring a Vienna Lager or an Oktoberfest for judging in Novembeer/Decembeer. We will not hold the judging as originally planned on November 21, but will move the date so as not to conflict with the meeting or clash with your Thanksgiving plans.

The same competition rules apply as always:

The beer must be ready to drink by the Novembeer 2008 BFD meeting at Todd and Mary Russell's house. It must be labelled with the brewer’s name and submitted in one of the following containers: 2 12 oz. bottles, 1 22 oz. bottle, or 1 container with at least 22 ounces of beer (i.e. growler, plastic soda bottle, etc.).

Contact any of the members of the Competition Committee (Todd, Phil, Billy K., Bill R. or Mary) if you have any questions.

Electing Club Officers for 2009

2008-10-12T09:23:00.002-05:00

At the October business meeting it was suggested that club members who won't be at the holiday party should be allowed to vote for officers via email. There were good arguments made on both sides of this question, and it was left that I (as current President) would look at the bylaws and set a procedure for this year's election based on what I found. Here are the parts of the BFD bylaws that seemed to me to be relevant to this question:

Section II-4 - Rights and Liability of Members Each regular member of the club shall have the right to vote on club matters provided they are in attendance during a regularly scheduled BFD Business meeting.

Section III-3 - Election Dates Regular elections are held annually with nominations at the December meeting. Voting will be held at the last meeting of the year and the new officers take office on January 1st. Special elections may be held as determined by the majority vote of the club officers.

By my reading of the bylaws email voting for officers (or anything else) is not allowed because the right of members to vote is dependant upon their attendance at a regularly scheduled BFD business meeting (II-4) and officers are to be nominated at the December meeting (III-3).

As was discussed at the October meeting, in order to have time for people to know all the nominees for office and vote via email before the December meeting nominations would have to be closed before that meeting and the bylaws require the nominations to be made then. In practice, I see no reason why nominations cannot be made before December (at the October or November meetings) and then made official at the December meeting.

To change the way the elections are held will require changing the bylaws. These bylaws were revised a few years ago with LOTS of discussion and input from the members of the club. I don't think they should be revised without careful consideration and adequate time for members to discuss the changes being made - as required by the bylaws:

Section IX-2 - Procedure for Changes Any regular member may make a motion for a change in the bylaws at any regularly scheduled monthly business meeting. When changes are suggested, the petition must be presented in writing. The vote on this motion will be at the next regularly scheduled monthly business meeting. The officers of the club will make every reasonable attempt to notify all regular members of the impending vote within ten days prior to the vote, but they are under no obligation to do so. Failure to notify the membership does not negate the scheduled vote. A vote of the majority of the regular members in attendance is required to approve a change in the existing bylaws.

So, officers for 2009 will be voted on at the Business Meeting held in connection with the holiday party which will be at the Fairbrother's (in Londonderry) on December 13, 2008. The bylaws do not specify who will run the elections. In the past the Treasurer has done so, but this year the President will run the election because our current Treasurer is running for office and I am not.

Nominations for office (President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary) will be open until I close them so that voting can begin during the December meeting. Nominations must be made at a business meeting because they require a second by another member. If you want to make a nomination and cannot attend the November or December meeting you can email the Vice President (who checks his email more often than I do) and he will bring your nomination forward at a meeting. If it receives a second at the meeting it will be considered a valid nomination.

The 12th Annual New England Homebrewer's Jamboree

2008-08-29T13:07:00.002-05:00

When: Saturday September 6th, 2008
Where: Branch Brook Campground, Route 49, W. Campton NH

Public welcome, proceeds to benefit Make-A-Wish Foundation

See: http://www.homebrewersjamboree.com/ for more details.

Blues 'n' Brews 2008 Results

2008-08-29T13:01:00.001-05:00

BFD members Chris Dodge, Jim Prucha, Todd Russell, and David Rosenbaum cleaned up at the Blues 'n' Brews homebrew competition last weekend! Chris finished third in the Best of Show with his Dil's Pale Ale and Jim, Todd, and David made big dents in their respective categories.

You can check out the results here:

http://www.foambrew.com/

Be sure to ask Chris, Jim, Todd, and David to share their award-winning brews with you at the September BFD meeting. Congratulations for showing FOAM how BFD brewers rock!

Belgian & French Ale results . . .

2008-08-29T12:57:00.004-05:00

Six strong examples of Belgian and French Ales were poured on Friday, August 22. Three emerged to take the ribbons:

3rd - Bill Herlicka with a Belgian Specialty Ale (Strong Golden with caramel malts)

2nd - Todd Russell with a Saison

1st - Bill Rucker and Bill Herlicka with a Belgian Specialty Ale (rye and brett)

Congratulations to Bill, Todd, and Bill for their well-crafted beers!

Thanks to Erik, Bert, Rob, and Bill for judging them.

Geez look at all those hops!

2008-08-11T10:06:00.003-05:00

The August meeting was held over Bert's, under the hops...

Here's Bert and fellow BFD member Dick with a portion of the hops that Bert grew this year.

Thanks for hosting the meeting Bert, great food, beverages and people, always a GREAT time!

Competitions and Amazing Advice

2008-08-10T11:14:00.004-05:00

At Friday's club meeting Michael Fairbrother gave us an update on the preparations for the New England Regional Homebrew Competition and it sounds great. Lots of sponsors, a beautiful sounding location (The Shed, in Acton, Maine), swag lined up for judges and stewards, a few entries already registered, and the website is ready for you to enter your beer. You can also sign up to be a judge or a steward at the competition, which I highly recommend as it is a lot of fun, you get to taste a lot of excellent beer, and its the only way you will get one of the awesome swag bags the NERHBC committee is putting together.

I plan to enter a beer in the NERBC this fall, but before it can be entered it needs to be bottled. At Friday's meeting I was talking to Bill Rucker and I mentioned that I was going to buy some more bottles because I didn't want to deal with cleaning the really old messy, still labeled commercial bottles that seem to breed in our cellar. He told me that half a scoop of OxiClean in a 5 gallon bucket of warm water will take the labels off nearly all commercial bottles and will clean the icky stuff (my term, not his) out of the bottoms of old bottles. It worked great! I now have plenty of sparkly clean bottles ready to sanitize and fill and it took twenty-five cents worth of OxiClean. I cleaned a little over 2 cases of bottles and only 2 ended up in the recycle bin because the labels wouldn't come off. They were both Stark Mill Brewery bottles. (I said they were old!) If you bottle your homebrew you should try this. If you don't bottle your homebrew, you should be bringing me your empty bottles. Thanks Bill!

Thanks the the Gosselins!

2008-07-13T10:53:00.006-05:00

Yesterday's BFD Cookout was awesome! Great food, great beer on tap, cool people to hang out with, bocce ball, and cornhole. What could be better? A big thanks to Shawn & Dawn Gosselin for letting us all descend upon them.

As I mentioned during the business meeting, the Fitchburg Order of Ale Makers (FOAM) will be holding their Blues and Brews Homebrew Competition on August 16. Entries may be dropped off between July 18th and August 9th at Jaspers Homebrew in Nashua or at various non-NH locations. Entry forms, drop-off locations, and details are on the FOAM website. The results of the competition will be announced at the 2008 BLUES 'N' BREWS FESTIVAL.

Congratulations John!

2008-06-21T21:38:00.007-05:00

The AHA competition winners were just announced (they will be posted in a little while). BFD's own John Allin took the bronze medal in the French and Belgian Ales category! The Brewing Network did a live broadcast of the awards ceremony. Congratulations John!

Meeting at Martha's

2008-06-08T14:35:00.002-05:00

The next club meeting will be Friday, June 13 at 7:00pm. We will be meeting at Martha's Exchange in Nashua, hosted by brewer Greg Ouellette. The meeting will be in a private room (ask the hostess to direct you when you come in). Directions are on Martha's website.

A jockey box for club night.

2008-05-14T05:55:00.003-05:00

Jockey Box

A jockey box is a portable dispensing device that's used to chill beer just in time for serving, removing the need to keep kegs of beer cold when serving. A jockey box needs to be functional, easy to use, and ideally pleasant to look at as you are showcasing all the craftsmanship that went into making your homebrew.

It works on the principles that the kegs of beer are sitting at room temperature, and when the beer passes through the heat exchange (coil or cold plate) located in the cooler box the beer temperature will drop to the ideal dispensing temperature. It is the perfect system for large parties or special events such as a family reunion, company picnic, camping, or club night at the National Homebrewers Conference (NHC). As it does not require any electricity it can be set up anywhere. CO2 gas is used to pressurize the keg for dispensing.

Brew Free or Die will be serving it's homebrew at this year's NHC, this is will be our third year of attending and serving beer at club night. Last year we took top honors by winning best beer at club night with a Zeus IPA from Todd Russell. The jockey box that I had previously built consisted of a 5-way cold plate (capable of serving 5 beers at one time). It had worked great over the last several years, but I really wanted to increase the number of beer/mead/cider that could be on draft, and I really showcase our homebrew, here's how I went about it.

I found a 7-way cold plate on ebay. I have had very consistent results with both types of heat exchangers (coils, cold plates), however I am not sure it's practical to have 7 coils inside one cooler. A cold plate consists of cast aluminum block with stainless steel coils inside of it, the cold plate for this project weights in at 26 lbs.

I wanted a wooden exterior for the jockey box. While on my way to the hardware store to pick up the raw materials that I would need to build one from scratch, I took a quick tour of HomeGoods and I found exactly what I needed. It's a outdoor wooden cooler that's meant to match the deck furniture. The price was about half that of anything I had found on line. It was unfinished, designed to be taken apart with a hex wrench, and designed to take the abuse of being outside for extended periods of time. All it needed was to be finished, and some other minor changes.

Getting the cooler home I completely disassembled it so that I had 5 panels, where I proceeded to sand, and polyurethane. Each layer of polyurethane must be allowed to dry completely (24 hours), then sanded with at minimum 200 grit paper, cleaned of dust and then a new layer of polyurethane applied.

I enhanced the structural integrity of the wooden exterior so that I could add handles to the side for easier jockeying around, and I wanted to ensure that the faucets would have enough support. Taking a 1/4" thick piece of plywood, I glued and secured the plywood to the slats on the sides where the handles were going, and the where the faucets were going to be paced.

Here's what the jockey box looked like after getting polyurethane applied:

Given that the hinges and the connectors had a brass finishes, I choose to keep all the accents in brass, including the drip tray, handles for carrying, and additional accents pieces, etc.
Here's a photo of the interior of the jockey box:

Given that a jockey box is often on a table, I didn't want the inbound tubing exiting from the back of the jockey box, where it would be visible. So with the cooler disassembled I drilled the 7 holes for the inbound beer lines, and then ran them down between the wooden exterior and the cooler. I connected the in and out lines in the picture above so I could keep track of which line is going to be which for final assembly. I am using 3/16" ID PVC tubing for the beer line, ordered a 100' as it was more cost efficient. I use hose clamps on all fittings. Nothing worse than opening a jockey box and seeing it full of your beer... this did happen to me at an event quite a number of years back. The handles shown in the picture above provide easy way for carrying the jockey box.

Next up is working out the logistics of where to place the faucets. I had 17.5 inch surface to work with allowing me to center the faucets every 2.5 inches allowing them equally spaced. A 7/8" hole saw was used to cut the holes for the faucets. I was extremely worried about making a mistake at this stage, and measured twice to ensure I had accurate center marks before I drilled. Also of consideration is the height of the faucets.

Here's a photo of the drip tray slider that I built, likely easier ways to do this but this is the best I could come up with that would allow me to hide the drip tray for storage and shipping, and allow for it to be extended without visible supports. This photo shows the underneath of the jockey box, I used two 5 inch sections of copper pipe, and a 10" dowel. It's set back 5 inches from the edge of the jockey box, a section of plywood is attached to the two dowels, and then I secured the support tray (oak board pictured) to the piece of plywood. Using a screw at the end of each dowel prevents the drip tray from being extended too far.

Here's a photo of the drip tray hidden:

Here the drip tray is extended:

Michael Fairbrother
Treasurer Brew Free or Die
Life time member of AHA

BJCP Category 16 (Belgian & French Ales) Club Competition

2008-05-11T12:45:00.003-05:00

It's time to brew up something funky for summer! The winner of the Brown Ale Competition picked Belgian and French Ales for the next club competition. This is BJCP Category 16 under the 2004 Style Guidelines. Brew a Witbier, Belgian Pale Ale, Saison, Biere de Garde, or Belgian Specialty Ale in time for tasting in August. Regardless of what you brew, it will be judged in one of those sub-categories.

The same competition rules apply as always:

The beer must be ready to drink by the August 2008 BFD meeting at Bert and Harriet Bingel's house. It must be labelled with the brewer’s name and submitted in one of the following containers: 2 12 oz. bottles, 1 22 oz. bottle, or 1 container with at least 22 ounces of beer (i.e. growler, plastic soda bottle, etc.).

Contact any of the members of the Competition Committee (Todd, Phil, Billy K., Bill R. or Mary) if you have any questions.

Why it's not a good idea to miss club meetings

2008-05-10T16:20:00.006-05:00

Billy and Sue Kannenburg hosted a FABULOUS meeting last night! In addition to the usual excellent assortment of snacks and homebrews there were beers Sue brought back to share with us from her trip to Seattle. I thought the Elysian Ambrosia Maibock and the Alaskan Smoked Porter were standouts. The dip that Billy made was also outstanding. (Hint: Recipes can be added as comments to this blog post.) Jim Prucha explained how he makes excellent beer from extract, and brought some delicious samples (I liked the 10th anniversary beer especially).

Friday morning also brought exciting news for BFD: the results from the first round of the National Homebrewers competition were announced. Winners in the North East region included:

John Allin, 2nd place in Belgian and French Ale

Chris Dodge 1st place in Scottish and Irish Red

Chris Dodge 1st place in American Ale

Michael Fairbrother, 1st place in Traditional Mead

Jim Prucha 2nd place in Dark Lager

Todd Russell, 1st place in Porter

Way to go BFD brewers!

Brown Ale Club Competition Results

2008-04-27T16:19:00.006-05:00

Thanks to Billy, Sue, Joe, Maureen, Eric, Jim, and Mary for judging the 10 entries on Friday. Cheers to all the brewers who submitted beers ranging from Northern English Brown ales to a Honey Brown with Sour Cherries. I look forward to seeing the same level of participation and quality at the next competition.

Without further ado, here are the results:

3rd Place - Jim Prucha - Northern English Brown
2nd Place - Billy Kannenburg - Northern English Brown
1st Place - Todd Russell - Mild

The winners all received fantastic new BFD ribbons courtesy of Brian Parda.

As announced previously, the winner will get to choose the category for the next competition. Stay tuned for an update at the May Meeting.

Here's one for you Kevin

2008-04-18T13:02:00.004-05:00

Kevin,

What can I possibly say... other than rest in peace, you will be missed!

You made some incredible food that was bold and spicy, and were an inspiration to others who were just getting into brewing, you had a great sense of humor and a wonderful appreciation of all things beer, cider, and mead!

I will kick one back in your honor tonight.

Michael

What are you entering in AHA?

2008-03-27T16:59:00.004-05:00

The American Homebrewers Association National Homebrew Competition is approaching and the time has come to decide what you are entering and send it in.

IMPORTANT DATES
First Round Entries Due March 31 - April 11, 2008
Second Round Judging, June 19, 2008
Awards Ceremony June 21, 2008, at the National Homebrewers Conference.

Excellent Event at Ebenezer's

2008-03-16T18:15:00.002-05:00

Ebenezers's Restaurant and Pub in Lovell Maine was the site of a great BFD event this weekend. Thanks to Jeff & Pam Goyette who arranged everything, and to owner Chris Lively who provided us with a wealth of outstanding beers from his cellar. Among the great beers that I got to try were Black Albert, Russian River's Salvation (batches 1 + 5), and Chris's custom blend of Boon Geueze and Cantillon Kriek (totally yummy!) Fifteen of us made up the BFD party at Ebenezer's and I encourage those of you who were lucky enough to be there to add comments to this posting and let everyone else know what they missed.

FOAM Homebrewer's Challenge

2008-03-11T13:14:00.004-05:00

The folks in FOAM (Fitchburg Order of Ale Makers) are holding a Homebrewer's Challenge to benefit charity, and are looking for brewers to participate. Their president, Joe Zadrozny (of Z Street Brewing fame) sent the following invitation:

The Date: April 26, 2008

The Event: 20 brewers will have their beer available for the public to taste and to judge. The winner as judged by a Peoples Choice ballot will receive a handsome plaque, and bragging rights! Tickets will be sold, and proceeds will go to Andrews Helpful Hands and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Requirements: One five gallon batch of your most popular beer, in a corney keg. You may also serve your beer from bottles, along with other beverages for people to sample if you wish.

Name___________________________________

Email___________________________________

Phone___________________________________

Beer You Are Donating_____________________

Will you be available to serve your beer? Y or N

Thank you!! Email info to joez3@verizon.net

There is still room for a half dozen or so brewers. The brewers will get a commemorative glass and the chance to sample the other brewers wares for free. There are going to be raffles and food available. It should be a fun evening!!

Brown Ale Competition

2008-03-07T11:56:00.002-05:00

It's almost Spring time and that means brown ales! Okay, that's not really the case, but nonetheless we are having a Brown competition in April. This is BJCP Category 11 under the 2004 Style Guidelines. Brew up a Mild, a Southern English Brown, or a Northern English Brown and don't hop it too much.

The same competition rules apply as always:

The beer must be ready to drink by the April 2008 BFD meeting at Joe and Maureen Moore's house. It must be labelled with the brewer’s name and submitted in one of the following containers: 2 12 oz. bottles, 1 22 oz. bottle, or 1 container with at least 22 ounces of beer (i.e. growler, plastic soda bottle, etc.).

Contact any of the members of the Competition Committee (Todd, Phil, Billy K., Bill R. or Mary) if you have any questions.

2008 Boston Homebrew Competition

2008-03-01T21:11:00.002-05:00

Today's Boston Homebrew Competition was a great event. Michael Fairbrother, Dan Hall, David Rosenbaum, Todd and I were all on hand to help the Wort Processors with the judging and stewarding duties. The official results will be posted on the competition site soon. One of the competition organizers was kind enough to share preliminary results with me so I could put them here on our blog right away. Eleven brews made by 5 BFD members placed. (The beer names are based on my notes scribbled on the back of a judging sheet - not the Wort Processors paper work.)

First Place
Jim Prucha - Schwartzbier
Jim Prucha - American Brown
Michael Robinson - Bock
Bill Herlicka - Specialty beer (aged in scotch barrel)
Todd Russell - Porter

Second Place
Lyn Howard - American Pale Ale
Michael Robinson - Kolsch
Michael Robinson - Baltic Porter
Michael Robinson - American Barley Wine

Third Place
Todd Russell - Saison
Michael Robinson - Old Ale

It's all about da mead

2008-02-13T13:47:00.002-05:00

Being as passionate about mead as I am about beer, I flew out to judge at the International Mead Festival Home Mead Makers Competition that was held on February 9th in Boulder Colorado. This event attracts a large number of professional judges as well as other very dedicated mead fanatics from across the entire United States and Canada.

While the purpose of the trip was mead related, I did get a chance to go to Avery Brewing Company. I wasn't able to tour the brewery, but was able to go its hospitality suite and enjoy the wonderful beers. My favorite was the "Collaboration not Litigation" ale that was "secretly" on draft, helps to be a beer geek who knows how to ask the right kind of questions. Ended up with a couple of bottles, of batch #2, which aren't officially on sale yet.

After enjoying as much beer as I liked, I was off to check into the hotel room. Where I got to meet some peers in the industry. While Moonlight Meadery is officially, I still have quite a long road ahead of me before we are in production.

Friday night was filled with various seminars, and an abundance of wonderful commercial meads. Jet lag won over and I went to bed fairly early, missed getting to hear Ken Schramm get to talk.

Saturday morning... woke up before dawn, and hit the gym, it was going to be a big day of judging, was planning on evaluating 16 meads over the course of the day... little did I know what the organizers had in mind for me.

Had a big breakfast, and was ready to start judging. I was asked to head one of the three tables of judges who were doing dry meads. One we finished our flight of eight, I was asked to sit on the mini-bos table. All the meads were very well done, the faults were little things like the mead might have been too sweet for style, etc.

Lunch was a nice collection of sandwiches and cookies. I grabbed a Fat Tire on draft.... hmm one of my favorite beers.

After lunch I was tasked with the open category of meads, again I was asked to head the judging, of a flight of 8 meads. We had a range of dry, semi-dry, and sweet meads to evaluate. Again I was asked to judge the 10 more meads in the mini-bos with other great judges like Curt Stock, Petar Bakulic, and Julia Herz.

Now I am thinking with 34 meads under my belt and a beer... the day must be done...

I was asked to be on the BOS (Best of Show) table for the entire competition, an incredible honor, and reward! As the meads at this level are the best of the best! The BOS table consisted of 5 judges, and our job was to pick the best out of the 10 meads.

So I ended up evaluating 44 meads over the course of the day, it was a ton of fun.

Here's the results:

2008 International Mead Festival Home Mead Maker Competition Results 188 Total Entries
Table 1 - 241 - Dry Mead (19 Entries)
Joshua Archer	Traditional Dry - 1		1
Joshua Archer	Traditional Dry - 2		2
Joshua Archer	Traditional Dry - 3		3
Table 2 - 242 - Semi-Sweet Mead (14 Entries)
Jonathan Jordan	Straight Nyssa	Hogtown Brewers	1
Mark Healey	Moose Pond Mead	Southern Maine Homebrewers	2
Rick Reilly, Ron Stroh		Prairie Homebrewing Companions	3
Table 3 - 243 - Sweet Mead (14 Entries)
Rick Spaziani	Liquid Gold		1
Michelle Moyer, James Moyer	Admiral's Gold		2
Edward Walkowski	2006 Orange Blossom Mead		3
Table 4 - 251 - Melomel - Cyser (11 Entries)
Christopher St. Mary	Son of Circum-Cyser	Sultans Of Swig	1
Michelle & James Moyer	Captain Pete's Farewell Kiss		2
Todd Leatherman	Super Cyser		3
Table 5 - 252 - Melomel - Pyment (15 Entries)
Kim Herald	Northern Lights	GotMead International Brewmasters	1
Steve Fletty	Chateau Fletty Gewurtztraminer	St Paul Homebrewers Club	2
Mitchell Omichinski	Valient		3
Table 6 - 253 - Melomel - Other Fruit (24 Entries)
Ron Kloth	Watermelon	Arizona Society Of Homebrewers	1
John Miller	Favored Concubine		2
Curt & Kathy Stock	Cherry Bliss	St Paul Homebrewers Club	3
Table 7 - 254 - Melomel - Berry (22 Entries)
Daniel Hempy	Strawberry Melomel	Brewcommune	1
John Charlesworth, Mark Parsch, Thad Williams			2
Rick Reilly, Ron Stroh		Prairie Homebrewing Companions	3
Table 8 - 261 - Metheglin (23 Entries)
Don Larsen, Bernie Ashe	Smoked Chili Mead		1
Mitchell Omichinski	Prairie Dew		2
Steve Fletty	El Diablo	Saint Paul Homebrewers Club	3
Table 9 - 262 - Braggot (14 Entries)
James Sites	Cerveza de los Muertes		1
Kurt Bormann	Brown Maggot Braggot		2
Sheron Rowland, Pamela McAlpin	2 Old Broads Old Ale Braggot	GotMead International Brewmasters	3
Table 10 - 263 - Open Category Mead (32 Entries)
Rick Spaziani	Agave Gold		1
Edward Silverman	Matt's Memorial Mead		2
Wayne Boncyk	Christmas Spice	GotMead International Brewmasters	3

2008 Best of Show
Don Larsen & Bernie Ashe	Smoked Chili Mead	Congratulations to Don and Bernie!
HONORABLE MENTION
Rick Spaziani	Agave Gold	Another fine Mead!

Special Awards
Best Name	Son of Circum-Cyser - Christopher St. Mary
Farthest Entry	Stepanie Krieger - Hawaii
Best Packaging	Nedra Headen - Foam wrap "Mummy" Madness

Notes from the Orval Office

2008-02-09T12:48:00.000-05:00

Back in the day BFD had a newsletter -- which was a pain to get pubished each month, but was excellent for the people who got to read it. One of the features of the newsletter was a column from the President -- from the Orval Office. I decided it would be nice to reinstate this particular BFD tradition and plan to write an Orval Office posting on the blog each month beginning with this one.

We had an excellent meeting last night at Erin & Brian Parda's house in Concord. Lots of great food (thanks to our hosts!) and, as always, a good selection of homebrew. The business meeting took a little less than 30 minutes and then we were on to Bill Herlicka's presentation about barrel aging beers. Bill gets his barrels from Thousand Oaks Barrel Co. and he has been very pleased with the beers he has aged that way. The Imperial Stout aged in a "scotched" barrel that Bill shared with us was certainly excellent!

A few reminders from the meeting:

The deadline for entering beers in the Boston Homebrew Competition is February 13th. The drop-off location in New Hampshire is Jasper's Homebrew Supply, 4 Temple Street, Nashua, (603) 881-3052, jaspers@boomchugalug.com. This is a BJCP sanctioned competition and will be judged in Boston on March 1, 2008.
If you want to go to the AHA Conference in Cincinnati, you need to book your room and register for the conference while there are still spots available. It is filling up fast.
The club will not be holding a March meeting, but will be gathering at Ebenezer's in Lovell, Maine on March 15th.
Our next official meeting will be April 11 in Merrimack and Bert Bingel will be doing a presentation on Mead.

Second Annual New England Regional Home brew Competition Raises $2000 for American Cancer Society

2007-12-20T14:38:00.000-05:00

Manchester, NH • December 20, 2007 — Brew Free or Die (BFD) and Southern Maine Home brewers clubs today donated $2,000, raised at their joint event, the Second Annual New England Regional Home brew Competition. The event was held at Milly’s Tavern in Manchester , NH , on Saturday, November 3^rd, 2007. The donation to the American Cancer Society is made in honor of Don Merkey, a member of BFD who succumbed to cancer in 2005.

"We are grateful that The New England Regional Home brew Competition chose to donate their proceeds to the fight against cancer," said Brigit Ryan of the American Cancer Society. "This money will go toward cancer research, services for patients, and prevention and detection programs."

The New England Regional Home brew Competition, sponsored by Gritty McDuff’s, with 250 entries, is the largest homebrewing competition in New England , and is sanctioned by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The competition awards gold, silver and bronze medals in 28 beer-style categories. Home brewer, Cidermaker and Meadmaker of the year honors, plus the Best of Show Award, are awarded to the top amateur brewers as determined through the competition. A complete list of winners is available on the competition website, http://www.bfd.org/NERHBC.

Brew Free or Die, New Hampshire’s Oldest Home brew Club, and Southern Maine Home brewers wish to thank all the entrants and sponsors of the event, including Gritty McDuff’s of Maine, Shapleigh Hops, White Labs, Samuel Adams, Sky River Mead, and Giles Apple Farm among many other local and national firms. A complete list of sponsors is available on http://www.bfd.org/NERHBC.

“We are glad to have the opportunity to contribute to this event and the American Cancer Society”, said Eric Sprague of Southern Maine Homebrewers.

"Don was a past president of BFD and was very enthusiastic about the idea of a New Hampshire based national homebrew competition." said Mary Russell, BFD President 2008. "It is wonderful that our brew clubs have been able to put this competition together and I hope that we will be able to build on this year's success and continue this competition as a tribute to Don."

Brew Free or Die (BFD) is New Hampshire 's first, and most active, homebrew club. It was founded in 1991 to foster the brewing and appreciation of craft beer in Central and Southern New Hampshire . Many BFD members have won awards for their brewing. BFD members have served as both judges and stewards at numerous regional and national competitions. Among the BFD membership is a Grand-Master BJCP beer judge.

Southern Maine Home brewers is Maine ’s most active homebrew club. It was founded in 2004 to preserve and promote the time honored tradition of home brewing; to educate members about beer, cider, mead & wine. Southern Maine Home brewers also maintains involvement with the AHA and their competitions through club sponsored entries and activities. Many members have won top honors at some of the most prestigious AHA/BJCP sanctioned events.

2007-11-26T12:37:00.000-05:00

Dear New England Homebrew Club,

I have been asked to organize the judging of the Sam Adams Patriot Homebrew Competition. This is a BJCP sanctioned competition to include styles 1 to 23, judging will take place on Saturday January 26th at Gillette Stadium (home to the New England Patriots).

I have setup a on line registration page for judges and stewards. Please see http://www.nhbrewers.com/Patriot/registration.php to register.

More information about lodging etc. will be provided to those that register, once I get the information from Boston Beer Co.

Also I could some help in running the competition, if anyone wants to volunteer please have them contact me.

Michael Fairbrother
Brew Free or Die

In Memory of Don

2007-11-11T10:20:00.000-05:00

Brew Free or Die and Southern Maine Homebrewers held it's second annual New England Regional Homebrewers competition on November 3, 2007 in Manchester NH, raising $2000 dollars for the American Cancer Society in memory of Don Merkey.

Don always wanted BFD to get more involved with the running of a big homebrew competition. Well it brings a tear to my eye, but with two successful years of running this competition, it's clear we have finally done it! I think Don would be proud of us, as the NERHBC by all measures was a tremendous success!

Competition stastics:

250 entries (including beer, cider, and mead) from 16 states across the entire country.
36 sponsors including:
Competition level sponsor - Gritty's
Best of Show sponsor - White Labs
Brewer of the Year sponsor - Boston Beer Co.
Meadmaker of the Year sponsor - Sky River Mead
Cidermaker of the Year sponsor - Gile's Family Farm
We raised $2000 for American Cancer Society, in Memory of Don Merkey.

It took a combined effort of many members of both homebrew clubs to organize the competition, raise sponsors, catalog and process all 750 bottles.

Also we couldn't have done it without all the help from the stewards, BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) judges, and professional brewers who spent the day processing and judging all 250 entries, so that feedback could be provided to all the entrants.

Here are the top winners:

Best of Show winner: Mark Healy with his Peach Cider.

Brewer or the Year: Rick Rocheleau

Meadmaker of the Year: Michael Fairbrother

Cidermaker of the Year: Eric Sprague

For a detailed list of all the winners and sponsors vist http://www.bfd.org/NERHBC

A Musical Tour of Dogfish Head Brewery

2007-11-08T11:24:00.000-05:00

A friend sent me this video link and I thought others might be interested: Dogfish Head Brewery

Stone Launch in New Hampshire

2007-10-19T10:37:00.000-05:00

Stone comes to Manchester, New Hampshire on Wednesday, October 24. The event will take place at Penuche's (formerly New Cheese) Grill, 96 Hanover Street. Starting at 7 p.m., Stone will be pouring its Pale Ale, IPA, Ruination, Smoked Porter, and Arrogant Bastard. Come meet Stone's New England Rep Michael Saklad and Stone's Head Brewer (and BFD member!) Mitch Steele. Maybe one of them will buy you a beer . . .

NERHBC -- entries from 14 different states (so far)!

2007-10-17T11:29:00.000-05:00

The Second Annual New England Homebrew Competition, scheduled for November 3rd in Manchester NH.

Our sponsorship drive has been an overwhelming success, with sponsors lined up for all 28 BJCP categories. Please see our sponsors page! As a reminder this competition is being hosted by Brew Free or Die and the Southern Maine Homebrewers, where all proceeds are going to the American Cancer Society in honor of Don Merkey, a member of Brew Free or Die and a BJCP judge.

Currently we have entries being registered from 14 states, from all corners of the United States. It's not too late to enter please see shipping and drop off locations, we have an entry deadline of October 26th.

Also if you are a BJCP, or professional brewer we are in need of judges, please register here.

Bourbon Barrel Baltic Porter

2007-10-13T12:24:00.001-05:00

We discussed the next beer to place in the bourbon barrel at the October BFD meeting and decided on a Baltic Porter. Here is a five gallon recipe brewed by Mitch and Todd that placed 1st in the BFD Imperial Challenge 2006:

15 lb. Pilsner malt
12 oz. Chocolate malt
8 oz. Caramunich malt
8 oz. Crystal 90L malt
4 oz. Black Patent malt
1.5 oz. Perle hops (bittering - 60 minutes) - 9% AA
1 oz. Hallertau hops (flavor - 30 minutes) - 6.5% AA
0.5 oz. Hallertau hops (aroma - 15 minutes)
Wyeast 2206 (Bavarian Lager yeast)
O.G. 1.076

We are shooting to place the Porter in the barrel by the December holiday party, so let Todd know your thoughts on the recipe and let's get brewing!

Single Hop Competition Results

2007-10-13T12:18:00.001-05:00

Eight beers vied for the title of the best Single Hop and three came out on top. Without further ado, here are the results:

3rd Place: Dave Lagueux's Centennial American IPA
2nd Place: Billy Kannenburg's Amarillo American Pale Ale
1st Place: Dave Lagueux's Summit American Pale Ale

Cheers to Mary, Brian P., Billy, and Michael F. for judging all eight entries.

We will be skipping the November BFD-only competition to focus on the NERHBC.

Second Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition Announced

2007-09-20T16:49:00.000-05:00

Manchester, NH • September 17, 2007 — On Saturday, November 3^rd, Brew Free or Die (BFD) and Southern Maine Homebrewers clubs are jointly hosting the Second Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition at Milly’s Tavern in Manchester, NH. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the American Cancer Society in honor of Don Merkey, a member of BFD who succumbed to cancer in 2005.

The New England Regional Homebrew Competition, sponsored by Gritty McDuff’s, is the largest homebrewing competition in New England, and is sanctioned by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The competition awards gold, silver and bronze medals in 28 beer-style categories. Homebrewer, Cidermaker and Meadmaker of the year honors, plus the Best of Show Award, are awarded to the top amateur brewers as determined through the competition. Winners will be selected from what are expected to be more than 160 entries of homebrewed beer, cider and mead from the six New England states. Entries will be accepted, between October 5^th and October 26^th, with judging to be held at Milly’s Tavern in Manchester, NH on Saturday, November 3^rd, starting at 9am.

A complete list of winners will be posted on the competition website, http://www.bfd.org/NERHBC after the competition.

This year’s competition is being planned and run by registered club members from throughout New Hampshire and Southern Maine, and are members of local clubs Brew Free or Die, New Hampshire’s Oldest Homebrew Club, and Southern Maine Homebrewers. Gritty McDuff’s of Maine is the competition sponsor,while other sponsors include White Labs, Samuel Adams, Sky River Mead, and Giles Apple Farm among many other local and national firms. A complete list of sponsors is available on http://www.bfd.org/NERHBC.

“We are all very excited about the level of enthusiasm and support from New England Homebrewers for this competition”, said Steve Loignon, “The opportunity to demonstrate our love of home brewing, and to honor Don’s memory with a donation to the American Cancer Society is a real motivator for our members.” said David Rosenbaum, Vice-president of Brew Free or Die.

For more information, including entry forms and registration for judges and stewards, please see the competition website: http://www.bfd.org/NERHBC.

Brew Free or Die (BFD) is New Hampshire's first, and most active, homebrew club. It was founded in 1991 to foster the brewing and appreciation of craft beer in Central and Southern New Hampshire. Many BFD members have won awards for their brewing. Among the BFD members are a Grand-Master, several Master and National-level beer judges, and a number of Certified and Recognized-level judges.

Southern Maine Homebrewers was founded in 2004 to preserve and promote the time honored tradition of home brewing; to educate members about beer, mead & wine, beer, mead & wine tasting, beer, mead & wine judging, and brewing techniques founded on shared knowledge and experience. Southern Maine Homebrewers also maintains involvement with the AHA and their competitions through club sponsored entries and activities, and helps members to develop the necessary skills to be certified with the (BJCP) “The Beer Judge Certification Program”.

2007 Jamboree Press release

2007-08-21T09:45:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOCAL BREW CLUBS HOST 11^TH ANNUAL HOMEBREWER’S JAMBOREE

TO BENEFIT “The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of New Hampshire”

The 11^th annual New England Homebrewer’s Jamboree is being held on Saturday, September 8^th, 2007 at the Branch Brook Campground in Campton, NH. The gates will open at 10am. It’s a $10 donation for adults (which includes a separate ticket good for a day of door prizes) and kids are free for this celebration of handcrafted beverages. This event is open to the public. The Jamboree is being sponsored by the Winnipesaukee Area Brew Crew, Fermentation Station Homebrewing and Fine Cigars, both of Meredith & Shapleigh Hops Craft Brewing Supply, Shapleigh, Maine. Organizers and sponsors also include the Manchester Area Society of Homebrewers, Southern Maine Homebrewers, and Brew Free or Die.

Family entertainment will include a horseshoe contest, children’s games and music throughout the day provided by Equinox Entertainment. There will be a food vendor on site for Saturday lunch, Saturday dinner/ribfest and Sunday breakfast. Overnight camping is available. Overnight with hookups are $30 per site per night, and $25 per site field camping. Please call the Fermentation Station at 279-4028 for more information and reservations. The informational website is www.homebrewersjamboree.com.

Homebrewers may enter beverages for the people’s choice competition, for an entrée fee of $3 for each sample of 3 bottles. Judged categories will include several varieties of beer, wine, meads and ciders. Bring your judge’s cap! Participants of legal age may sign up to judge the morning of the Jamboree. ID’s will be checked. There will also be sampling from several area microbreweries and among attendees. Come check out several home brewers actually brewing their own beverages on site!

Any and all proceeds above costs will be donated to the Make A Wish Foundation of New Hampshire. We were able to donate over $3000 in 2006, and are hoping for a larger donation this year. Please join us for a fun-filled day of fellowship and homebrewing!

Single Hop Competition

2007-05-24T09:22:00.001-05:00

We tried this once before with Styrian Goldings (Vinnie Cilurzo's favorite hop). This time we are going in a different direction – you pick the hop! Brew it in the style of an American Pale Ale, English Pale Ale, American IPA or English IPA. Hop it judiciously. This will be a great beer for fall . . . so get those kettles boiling and have it ready for September.

The same competition rules apply as always:

The beer must be ready to drink by the September 2007 BFD meeting. It must be labelled with the brewer’s name and submitted in one of the following containers: 2 12 oz. bottles, 1 22 oz. bottle, or 1 container with at least 22 ounces of beer (i.e. growler, plastic soda bottle, etc.).

Contact any of the members of the Competition Committee (Todd, Phil, Billy, or Mary) if you have any questions.

Session Beer Results

2007-05-05T10:50:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Michael, Kurt, Jim, and Mary for judging the 10 entries from 11 different brewers. As Michael aptly observed, these small beers don't really hide any flaws.

Here's the best of the bunch:

3rd - Mike Robinson - Special Bitter

2nd - Shawn Gosselin - Dark Mild

1st - Kurt Demmer - Dry Stout

Cheers to Mike, Shawn, and Kurt for making some truly drinkable beers!

Session Beer Judging

2007-04-29T16:45:00.000-05:00

The judging will commence this Friday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Russells' house. All are welcome to attend. We have approximately 10 entries to sip and savor. Please contact Todd or Mary if you need directions.

Club Competition -- Low Gravity Beer

2007-04-17T08:33:00.000-05:00

Entries for the Low Gravity Beer competition are due at this Friday's meeting(4/20). Bring 2 12oz. bottles, 1 22oz.bottle, or the equivalent. No more than two entries per person. Judging will be in early May (date to be scheduled.)

Welcome to the BFD News Blog

2007-02-25T09:18:00.000-05:00

This is the first draft of the BFD news blog. Club competitions, updates on swag, and whatever the officers think should go here will be posted in this space. If other club members have news once in a while they can send it to any of the officers or coordinators and it will be posted here. If any of you have brew news often that you want to post send an email to Mary Russell and she can set you up to post news directly. Anyone is welcome to add comments to postings.

You can get the news through an RSS reader or a daily digest in your email. The links are on the left for that. If you want to find archived postings go to the topic links at the right side of the blog or the posts by date for stuff that was here during a specific month.

If you have suggestions for improving the blog please let me know.

-- Mary Russell, BFD Blog Coordinator

BFD News

BFD Meeting: Friday night, June 10th at the Hall's

May Meeting: Friday May 13, 2011 - Rob Somoygi's house

BFD's Big Brew Day 2011 plans

April Meeting: Friday Apr 8th, 7pm at John Golden's house

11 March 2011 meeting - White Birch Brewery

January Meeting: Friday Jan 14th, 7pm at Kai Troester's house

Rob North Wins 2010 Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest

April Club Only Competition - American Ales

Notice to new members...

November BFD Club Competition - Results

Fourth Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition Raises $2,000 for Charity / Winners Announced

-end

BFD Barrel projects

October Club Competition Results

LongShot wnners Video

Samuel Adams LongShot Winners announced.

4th Annual NERHBC Announced - Press Release

-end

What makes BFD such a great club?

Who's happier than David????

Patriot Homebrew Winner news update...

Drinking Haikus

Hops Direct LLC donates 25lbs of whole leaf hops to the club.

New Style: Gluten Free Beer

Patriot Homebrew Competition and the winner is???

Brew Free or Die --- now owns Mead Free or Die

Old Ale -- Utopias barrel aged.

Cranberry Challenge 2008

3rd New England Regional Homebrew Competition

European Amber Lager Club-Only Competition

Electing Club Officers for 2009

The 12th Annual New England Homebrewer's Jamboree

Blues 'n' Brews 2008 Results

Belgian & French Ale results . . .

Geez look at all those hops!

Competitions and Amazing Advice

Thanks the the Gosselins!

Congratulations John!

Meeting at Martha's

A jockey box for club night.

BJCP Category 16 (Belgian & French Ales) Club Competition

Why it's not a good idea to miss club meetings

Brown Ale Club Competition Results

Here's one for you Kevin

What are you entering in AHA?

Excellent Event at Ebenezer's

FOAM Homebrewer's Challenge

Brown Ale Competition

2008 Boston Homebrew Competition

It's all about da mead

2008 International Mead Festival

Home Mead Maker Competition Results

188 Total Entries

Notes from the Orval Office

Second Annual New England Regional Home brew Competition Raises $2000 for American Cancer Society

In Memory of Don

A Musical Tour of Dogfish Head Brewery

Stone Launch in New Hampshire

NERHBC -- entries from 14 different states (so far)!

Bourbon Barrel Baltic Porter

Single Hop Competition Results

Second Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition Announced

2007 Jamboree Press release

Single Hop Competition

Session Beer Results

Session Beer Judging

Club Competition -- Low Gravity Beer

Welcome to the BFD News Blog